Easy Cauliflower and Pork Jowls Stir-Fry 菜花炒豬頸肉 (cài huā chǎo zhū jǐng ròu) is a very easy and tasty dish that can get the carnivores in your household to eat vegetables. At least it worked in mine!
But first I want to talk a bit about cauliflower. There are 2 main types of cauliflower. One is the regular one we find here in the west where the stem is stocky and the florets are dense. The second type has thinner stems that are slightly green and a loose crown of florets. The name of this latter kind is tricky. It has been called Chinese cauliflower, Taiwanese cauliflower, Japanese cauliflower, Fujian cauliflower, fioretto cauliflower and flowering cauliflower. There are probably more, but let’s stop there. I like the name flowering cauliflower…it sounds pretty. Anyways, I prefer this kind because it’s sweeter and crispier. But the downside is that it’s more expensive. I’ve heard in some parts of the world, it can be three times the price of regular cauliflower.
There are also a million names for it in Chinese. It used to just be called 菜花 (cài huā) or 椰菜花 (yē cài huā) and then when the flowering cauliflower became popular all over China, they had to differentiate it from the regular kind. Restaurants started naming them 有機菜花 (yǒu jī cài huā). Maybe some of them were organic but definitely not all of them. But of course since the name is a misrepresentation, they are starting to call it 松花菜 (sōng huā cài) 散花菜 (sàn huā cài ) which both translate to “loose flower vegetable”. Notice that it’s now 花菜 (huā cài ) instead of 菜花 (cài huā). The words 菜花 (cài huā) also means genital warts in Chinese! I think modifying the name is wise!
In my Easy Cauliflower and Pork Jowls Stir-Fry 菜花炒豬頸肉 recipe, I’ll show you how to make this easy dish in around 15 minutes. It’ll take even less time if you buy the pre-sliced pork jowls. You’ll see in my list of ingredients that I use equal amounts of cauliflower and pork jowls. It’s because we love pork jowls for its crispiness so it goes great with the flowering cauliflower but you can use any cauliflower and pork you have on hand. And you can definitely change the vegetable to meat ratios that suit you.
Looking for more quick & easy recipes? Try my Beef and Broccoli Stir-fry 西蘭花炒牛肉 or another healthy option is my Shoestring Potatoes and Pork Stir-fry 土豆絲炒豬肉.
Easy Cauliflower and Pork Jowls Stir-Fry 菜花炒豬頸肉
Ingredients
- 350 g Taiwanese cauliflower
- 350 g Pork sliced
- 5 cloves Garlic chopped
- 1 stalk Green onion
- 2 tbsp Abalone sauce or oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- ¼ tsp Sugar
- 1 ½ tsp Cornstarch
- ¾ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Garlic powder
- ½ c Water
- 1 ½ tsp Cornstarch for slurry
- 3 tbsp Water for slurry
- 2 tbsp Oil
Instructions
- Slice pork jowls into slices.
Note that pork jowls are quite thin and a little tough to slice, so you may want to slice at a diagonal against the grain and use a sharpened knife. Alternatively, Asian grocery stores may have pre-sliced ones usually for hot pots. I have also had the butcher slice for me. 
- Marinate the pork jowls with ¼ tsp sugar, ¼ garlic powder, ¾ tsp salt and 1 ½ tsp cornstarch. Mix well and set aside
- Cut the cauliflower to similar length as the pork jowls and separate the florets into bite size width
- Chop 5 cloves of garlic and cut green onions to 5 cm or 2” segments
- Heat wok to medium-high heat. Add 2 tbsp oil
- Add pork jowls to the wok and arrange in single layer. Let it fry for 1 minute then flip over and fry for another minute. Remove from wok but leave the oil
- Add cauliflower to the wok (add a bit more oil if there is no oil left in the wok). Stir-fry for 1 minute
- Add chopped garlic.
Adding garlic after the vegetables will prevent the garlic from burning - Add 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine. Stir-fry for 30 seconds
- Add 2 tbsp abalone sauce and ½ c water
- Cover wok with lid for 3-5 minutes or until cauliflower is at your desired texture
- Prepare slurry with 1 ½ tsp cornstarch and 3 tbsp water. Mix well and set aside
- Add the pork jowls back into the wok and stir-fry for 1 minute or until the pork jowls are fully cooked
- Give the slurry a mix and pour it slowly into the wok. Stir until sauce has thickened
- Reduce the heat while you taste test and make adjustments with salt and/or sugar
I did not need to add anything extra - Add green onions. Mix well
- Serve
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